Reviews

At the time of its publication (coincedentally the same year I was born) this was a pioneering commentary in the evangelical world- a thorough, scholarly work on a much ignored biblical text. Although I disagree with Davids basic assumption about the nature of the text as a two (or more) stage work, Davids brings much to be respected and used. His analysis of liguistic connections linking seemingly unrelated (topic-wise) sections of text is very valuable for the study of the text itself. But this volume is less preacher friendly than other commentaries on James.

Davids receives top billing from some of the experts. The NIGTC series is targeted squarely at the scholar or well-trained pastor, so you may struggle with this one unless you have some knowledge of the Greek text. Jim Rosscup says, “Davids writes in a style that often refreshes, and not only provides a verse by verse commentary that shows great awareness of literature and facets important to explain the text but in a special section develops seven themes of theology.” [Full Review]

Davids, whose distinctive contribution was to see James as having gone through a redaction or two. I'm not convinced of his theory on this, but I am convinced that James' text is not a simple linear piece of logic [Full Review]

For those who are intending to do in-depth exegetical work in the original Greek text, Davids' commentary in the NIGTC commentary will be an invaluable help. Like all of the NIG commentaries, this one leaves virtually no stone unturned. [Full Review]